Dear Lucy, Where Death Has Left a (Deep and Temporary) Hole

This week holds the two-year anniversary of

Life without Lucy;

two years of lifting Lucy's family lovingly to God in prayer

and trusting Him,

*that they should seek the Lord, in the hope 

that they might grope for Him and find Him, 

though He is not far from each one of us; 

for in Him we live and move and have our being,...

(see reference below)

The heart-shaped rock, noticed and picked by her granddaughter, 

then painted by my daughter Victoria.

The sign from my niece-in-law Emma!

Precious mementos in memory of Lucy!

Because we never know what a week holds I am sharing

a tribute/poem that poured from my

slowly healing heart this mourning/morning...

partly due to how September's ambience sparks so many memories!

LUCY SO loved September's bittersweet scents and hues!

which, I'm sure she was drinking in on her (unbeknownst to her)

last bike ride to Heaven; to meet her Saviour

and the Creator of all she dearly loved! 

September hues and scents and sounds rouse a profound sense in the soul

Of life-scapes expanding around 'Ground-sorrow', where death left a hole

Nothing will fill, but Time persists with love, still very much alive

Its duty and labour insists on frameworks love and life contrive

The heart, where death has left a hole nothing will fill, still aches with grief 

The part that we cannot control we leave to God whose Way/will is Chief

Though mortal Want misunderstands Purposes that seem so unkind 

He reaches out His nail-scarred hands; scars that Calvary left/left Calvary behind 

...and bids us cast our care/grief on Him; He helps us bear/wear the hole death leaves 

He too has borne love's guerdon, grim, and shed real tears, wiped on God's sleeves

For He is not some far-off God, unable to commiserate

With our hurt; He too has trod the Mourner's Vale through Sorrow's Gate 

And suffered the climax of loss when He gave his life in our stead

Enduring death upon a cross to conquer death and crush death's head 

To break the curse that doomed us when first Eve, then Adam disobeyed

He scorned death's claim and rose again; the price for our redemption paid 

So, though the stroke of death may leave a deep and everlasting temporary hole

For all who repent and believe God grants to grief a glorious goal

And though nothing will fill the place where death has left its aching void

God, through the goodness of His grace, comforts grief with hope, overjoyed 

Janet Martin

1 Thess.4:13-14

Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed

 about those who sleep in death,

 so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. 

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 

we also believe that God will bring with Jesus

 those who have fallen asleep in Him.

Acts 17:26-31

He has made from one blood every nation of men

 to dwell on all the face of the earth,

and has determined their preappointed times 

and the boundaries of their dwellings,

so *that they should seek the Lord, in the hope 

that they might grope for Him and find Him, 

though He is not far from each one of us; 

for in Him we live and move and have our being,

as also some of your own poets have said,

 ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God,

 we ought not to think that the Divine Nature

 is like gold or silver or stone, 

something shaped by art and man’s devising. 

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, 

but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 

because He has appointed a day

 on which He will judge the world in righteousness 

by the Man whom He has ordained. 

He has given assurance of this to all 

by raising Him from the dead.”

(read the whole glorious chapter HERE)

I have also listened to this song countless times!

I Set My Hope on Jesus

Inexhaustible Invitation and Consolation

1 Cor.2:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,

 neither have entered into the heart of man,

 the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Take heart, dear sick or struggling or sorrowing soul!

The Best is yet to come!! (For all who love God)

God Will Take Care of You

We all, without exception, are facing the valley of the Shadow of Death!

God, whose ear no one can exhaust

beckons all to come! 

to call on Him!

to believe in Him!

To receive salvation's gift of forgiveness and eternal life!

(because it is our sin that separates us from God

And all have sinned!! and only Christ's shed blood pardons us)

then, we can all claim the words of David...

Ps.23:4

'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; 

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.'

Matt.11:28

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest.

John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, 

Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice,

 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

John 6:35
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. 

Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, 

and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

Isaiah 55:1-3
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; 

and you without money, come, buy, and eat! 

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! 

Why spend money on that which is not bread, 

and your labor on that which does not satisfy?

 Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

 and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. 

 Incline your ear and come to Me; 

listen, so that your soul may live. 

I will make with you an everlasting covenant—

My loving devotion promised to David.

Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you;

We cannot exhaust God

However oft we plead

His ear is tuned to our thought

His eye to our need

We cannot weary He

Who satisfies our want

And aids us in faith’s ministry

Where doubt's temptations taunt

We cannot drain love’s stores

However oft we cry

He who forgives our sins outpours

Mercy’s unplumbed supply

We cannot tire Him

With amen and amen

Or faze the fount where favours brim

Beyond our wildest ken

We cannot overtax

Or impoverish grace

Or fall beyond the rod and staff

Of the Shepherd’s embrace

Or ever deplete He

Whose love transcends time’s toll

For within our mortality

Lodges a deathless soul

It is for This Christ came

Our debt of shame He braved

So all who call upon His name

When death comes, will be saved

In the vale of death’s hour

Lord, crown our fear with peace

For no one can exhaust the pow’r

That purchased death’s release

….for death stalks one and all

But all who trust in You

Know, as death’s solemn shadows fall

You wait to walk us through

Thank-you Lord, as we face

The pall of Final Breath

None can exhaust Love's/Life's gift of grace

You purchased with Your death

Janet Martin

Rom.10:8-13

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”d 

that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:

  9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”

 and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

  10For with your heart you believe and are justified, 

and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

11It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”e

12For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: 

The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,

  13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”f

Time's Fragile, Fleeting Flower-span

'The old will die,

the young can die'

a quote I heard my grandma repeat

numerous times when I was a child

A quote to remind us that life is uncertain at best

and all should call ' on the name of the Lord and be saved' Rom.10:13

before 'the dust returns into its earth, from whence it was,

and the spirit returns to God, who gave it'. Eccles.12:7

...to remember our Creator in the days of our youth

before the difficult days come 

and the years draw near that we say

'I have no pleasure in them' Eccles.12:1

To make the Reason personal; the Reason we can say

with confidence every morning

'Lord, this is the day that You have made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it' Ps.118:24

We will rejoice and be glad

because no matter what happens

the Giver of salvation's gift is with us.

The little parts we can see, of highs and lows

'are like a mist that appears for a little while,

then vanishes'. James 4:14

Prov.27:1

Do not boast about tomorrow, 

for you do not know what a day may bring.

Like a flower, the days of man unfold,

and fall away...

The old will die, but oh, the young are often taken too

The part that sobers you and I, not for a chosen few

And no one knows the time or place  when we return to He

Who knew the number of our days before one came to be

Like a flower, the days of man unfold and fall away

The old will die but the young can; death visits every day

How urgently we ought to view the lease of Mercy's toll 

Before the dust reclaims its due, and God, the deathless soul

Prepare to meet thy God; this is no archaic cliché 

This is the Voice that rends the sod and winds and waves obey

This is the God whose pure love braved death's cruel duel, grim

And triumphed; so we can be saved if we believe in Him

The old will die, but the young can; the days of man are wee 

 Time's Fragile, Fleeting Flower-Span fans Vast Eternity

A vastness none can comprehend; yet bids our worship brim!! 

God broke sin's curse so we may spend eternity with Him

Janet Martin

Time's Fragile, Fleeting, flower-span fans vast eternity...

 

...prepare to meet your God, (O Israel)

For behold, He who forms the mountains,

who creates the winds,

who reveals His thoughts to man,

who turns the dawn to darkness,

who strides on the heights of the earth,---

the Lord, the God of hosts is His name

Amos 4:12-13

Who Am I-Casting Crowns

Who Knows What Waits

 

2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 14

For the 2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, 

poets write a poem a day in the month of November. 

Day 14 is to write a who blank poem.

I watched the sunrise then checked the prompt for today and the first lines flowed naturally...

Who knows what waits where welkin gates are flung ajar by He

Who fills the air with mercy's flare for all humanity...

I then paused to tend to a few chores and in that time

received news that a sick friend had pass from this life

into Heaven and all I could do was pray

as a tremendous wave of relief, joy and grief

washed over me...

As the sun rose glorious in the east she departed to

the land of endless day, endless health, endless joy and peace

Dear Penner family,

Rom.15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, 

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Who knows what waits where welkin gates are drawn ajar by He

Who fills the air with mercy's flare for all humanity

Whose thoughts and ways none can appraise, beyond all mortal ken

Whose Name is Love; a Name above all other names. Amen

Who knows our cares and hears our prayers and saves us by His grace

Whose perfect will tries faith until we see Him face to face

Who does not leave our hearts to grieve without hope in the world

But comes to us and comforts us through promises unfurled

Who suffered too, and traveled through death's vale, but all alone

Who rose again; the curse of sin forever overthrown 

Who longs that all would heed His tender call 'come unto Me'

And trust His love to be enough for all eternity 

Whose glory spills in constant thrills and glimpses of Sublime 

These but the fringe; an earth-sky hinge on a hold we call Time  

Who gives and takes with no mistakes; each life a gift from He

Who knows our score of days before one of them comes to be 

God knows what waits where welkin gates are drawn ajar; rejoice

In gold and rose He overflows the heavens with His voice

Janet Martin

...and before I knew what was waiting in the wings of daybreak

this was the Scripture reading in my devotion from Our Daily Bread

Lam.3:22-33

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,

for the Lord has laid it on him.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust—

there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,

and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For no one is cast off

by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

33 For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to anyone.

Where we'll never grow old by Jim Reeves with Lyrics

Dear Lucy, Then Heaven...

Dear Lucy, today marks nine months since

you were suddenly called Home...

May all of us who miss you so

honour your memory by loving well

those still within our reach!💓🙏

Lucy loved flowers...esp. peonies!

In her eulogy one of her children remembered her calling to them

to come and stuff their face in a peony 

'because you have not lived till you've stuffed your face in a peony!!'

So Lucy, this peony-season each face-stuffing is in tender memory of you...💝💔

 Won't you too, take time to stuff your face in a peony?!

and when you do, thank God for your loved ones, 

pray for those mourning the loss of a loved one

and consider, if God should call you as suddenly as He called Lucy

nine months ago, if you are prepared to meet Him

because you have received the gift of salvation 

when you believed in Him! 

This is one of the first verses our parents taught us to memorize

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

***

When Death, the Scythe that ceases Time, gathers a loved one beyond reach

Then Heaven, once hope's distance clime becomes longing's uttermost roar

Where, though we stagger 'neath the weight of lessons love must ever teach

We turn our eyes toward a Gate that gleams far fairer than before

When Death delivers Farewell's rift and stuns the grasp of mortal ken

Then Heaven, once salvation's gift becomes sorrow's song, over-joyed

And though our tears may flow, we know God's keeps His promises. Amen

He cheers us with strains of 'hello' wafting across yon, gaping void

When Death reminds we who remain how small-swift-sacred is life's lease 

When earthly loss is Heaven's gain then Heaven suddenly draws near

Compelling us with humbler hearts to look upon the Prince of Peace

Until faith turned to sight imparts the face of God and loved ones dear 

When Death, the Scythe that ceases time fells dust-to-dust's brief vestibule 

Then Heaven, once hope's distant clime draws grief to gaze beyond the grave

On He who gathers back the soul, who made Heaven's hope/Home possible 

Conquering death and hell for all who call on Him, Mighty To Save 

~Janet Martin

The Sweet By and By

Before It Is Too Late

Because death forgets no one,

 today's post is an earnest and urgent beckoning

because of a reckoning none will escape...

The Ninety and Nine...

Luke 15:4-7

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, 

does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness,

 and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 

5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

  6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, 

saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 

7I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven 

over one sinner who repents 

than over ninety-nine [b]just persons who need no repentance.

On his deathbed the other week, my sister-in-law's brother put his faith in Jesus

before, at 51 years of age, he passed from time into eternity.

Praise the Lord! He did not dismiss the window of opportunity still open,

 to repent and believe!

Death forever closes the window of every opportunity

but ultimately the opportunity to receive the gift of salvation!

Sometimes death comes too suddenly to call upon God's name,

so then, we should prepare to meet God today!

God, who so loved us He gave His Son as the final sacrifice for sin because

'without shedding of blood is no remission/forgiveness. Heb.9:22

Matt.24:43-44

But know this, that if the master of the house had known

 what [a]hour the thief would come, 

he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

 44 Therefore you also be ready, 

for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

What can be sadder than to be Almost Persuaded?!

Acts 26:28 NKJV

Then Agrippa said to Paul,

 “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

Almost Persuaded

Death stops us in our tracks,

In leaps of faith, mid-prayer/air

It accomplishes hope’s climax

Or eternal despair

It adjourns highs and lows

When death lowers its bar

It executes life’s curtain-close

No matter who we are

It strips the soul’s veneer

(Pray we prepare to meet

Our God, for we must all appear

Before His judgment seat)

It lurks in every breath

In every step we take

We live in the shadow of death

Eternity at stake

Between Will Be and Was

God’s grace unfurls Time’s mast

And grants what none should waste, because

Today could be our last

Salvation, none can earn

Saves us from sin's dire fate

Because, Death waits at every turn

Who can afford to wait

…to call upon the Name

Of God, mighty to save

All who believe, death cannot claim

For Christ conquered the grave

Therefore, though death is sure

We need not dread its scythe 

All who believe, God holds secure

In everlasting life   

Then pray, do not delay

To make repentance true

Because maybe this very day

Death will take me or you

Then, hearken/listen unto He

Who calls us all by name 

Who gave Himself to set us free

From death's unyielding claim 

Before it is too late

(for death forgets no one)

Pray for faith's gift of saving grace

Through Jesus Christ, God's Son

© Janet Martin

Isa. 51:5-6

My righteousness is near,

My salvation has gone forth,
And My arms will judge the peoples;
The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And on My arm they will trust.
 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not be [b]abolished.

Read the full glorious chapter HERE

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 

we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 

13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing

 of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 

14 who gave Himself for us, 

that He might redeem us from every lawless deed

 and purify for Himself His own special people,

 zealous for good works.

To Live a Hymn

Yesterday I attended the funeral

of my friend's father-in-law.

He was 65.

Then, I attended a visitation for another friend's son-in-law.

He was 34.

There my friend told me how my sister Lucy's picture hangs near her sewing machine

so she remembers to pray for me and Lucy's family.

(for irregular visitors here; my sister lost her life suddenly 

when she was hit while riding her bicycle last Sept.) 

Lucy was 55. 

When someone we love passes away it brings an end to

conversations, activities, dreams and plans once fondly shared.

But it flings wide the renewed invitation to dredge the deeps of

what truly matters, above all!

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; 

but the greatest of these is love.

 1 Cor.13:13

Faith in the finished work of the cross!

Hope through Jesus' resurrection!

so we may know God's love

that surpasses knowledge!

1 Cor.15:16-19

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 

18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 

19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, 

we are of all people most to be pitied.

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.

 The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 

26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. 

Do you believe this?”

Do the above verses not ignite or rekindle a desire

to live the reflection of belief/faith?!

to live a hymn of hope?!

to live the light of love?!!

To live a hymn of love for Thee

O Lord, let this our motive be

To yield Want’s will to Thy command

To trust the leading of Thy Hand

And not with human wisdom try

Reason’s demand to satisfy

But without fail, to find enough

Where these abide;

 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn to worship Thee

No matter what the cost may be

To know, no matter what our lot

Tis cradled in Divine Forethought

Where, once for all, Thy sacrifice

Suffered and covered pardon’s price

So, we would always find enough

Where these abide;

 Faith, hope and love

To live a hymn of humble awe

O Lord, to delight in Thy law

And then to fill Time's bar of days

With open-handed, thankful praise

Rather than loot of fleeting pelf

That cannot appease gods of Self

Lord, overflow hearts with enough

Where these abide;

Faith, hope and love 

To live a hymn of joy in Thee

With faith and hope's expectancy

Without a dearer purpose than

To love you first, then fellowman

To lay before Thy throne of grace

Each tear that treads the soul or face

Each prayer learning to find enough

Where You provide

 Faith, hope and love

© Janet Martin

Eph.3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,

 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.

 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you

 with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,

 to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

 according to his power that is at work within us, 

21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 

for ever and ever! 

Amen.

Read the full glorious chapter of 1 Cor.15 HERE

1 Cor.15:50-58

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, 

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,

 nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 

52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, 

and we will be changed. 

53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, 

and the mortal with immortality.

 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, 

and the mortal with immortality,

 then the saying that is written will come true: 

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God! 

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. 

Let nothing move you.

 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

 because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Below, the last paragraphs of yesterday's and today's devotions from

Streams in the Desert Vol.2

...and last but not least, my most listened to song of 2024...

I Set My Hope on Jesus

Death Wakens Awareness....To Life/Love

It is a season of mourning in our family...

 Now we bid fond earthly farewell

to James's (my husband's) beloved 93 year old mother,

who passed away on Friday.

(obituary HERE)

How we will miss her,

but how we rejoice that she is released from her

weary and worn out body.

Dear mother,

No more precious shared lunches and coffees and chats...

or birthday celebrations

(Cake decorating credit goes to my sister-in-law)

or being greeted by your sweet, welcoming smile

from your chair where you delighted in watching birds

and people come and go.

No more hardships for you, dear mother!

Your chair is empty...

Once again death rouses awareness...

Death, is a Certain Doorway through which all will disappear

A sacred, solemn, Supreme Inevitability

And when its Immutable Must summons one near and dear

It tunes Thought to Time's Holy Lease hinged to eternity

Death wakens re-awareness to the gift of Here and Now

It spotlights love's track-record forged by what we do and say

And brings us boldly face to face with ourselves, somehow

And Precious Opportunity afforded in Today

Death stirs in us a sense of so much more than meets the eye

The Part no lens can captivate, and knowledge cannot quell 

It bids us ponder somberly love's breath-by-breath reply

To He who gave himself to break the curse of death and hell  

Death rouses us to look at life and its impending goal

It begs for answers to questions none should flee or ignore   

'What doth it profit us to gain the world and lose our soul?

And who can carry anything through death's leveling Door?

Death wakens fresh awareness to the preciousness of 'us' 

And how it is a privilege to live to give and share

Each others joys and sorrows;  then, rather than fret and fuss

Or point accusing fingers, to fold them in thankful prayer 

 © Janet Martin

1 Cor.15:53-58

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 

and this mortal must put on immortality.

 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption,

and this mortal has put on immortality, 

then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

 “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O[n] Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, 

be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work 

of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.